Hermeneutics of Evil: a phenomenological Approach between Paul Ricoeur, Emmanuel Lévinas and Jean-Luc Marion

Abstract

The problem of evil is one of the most difficult and complex challenges for the philosophy of all times and places. The experience of pain, so present in human life, involves a true unknown also for phenomenology. Considering its mysterious nature, several authors have spoken about it, including the phenomenologists Paul Ricoeur, Emmanuel Lévinas and Jean-Luc Marion. Taking on account priority features of the nouvelle phénoménologie, we present an approach to the hermeneutical analysis that these authors carry out around the mystery of iniquity. Furthermore, their contributions manifest possibilities and limits for philosophy and theology, insofar as said theme becomes central in the approach to the meaning of being and reality itself.